Ask Amy: Working from home creates extra homework

Thursday

Dear Amy: I live with my mother and sister. I can’t afford to move out. My mother and sister both have jobs outside the home. I have a home-based business.

Somehow, the cleaning at home always seems to be left to me. I’ve tried asking for help, but they only pitch in for a few days and then stop. I’ve tried leaving it messy, but nothing gets done. I’ve asked them kindly and rudely, but nothing seems to work!

I respect both of them, but it would be nice if they respected me and my own work, and not leave everything up to me.

Do you have ideas on how to solve this? — Self-Made

Dear Made: You should not have to “ask” family members to clean up after themselves or pitch in with household chores.

On the other hand, if you are not contributing financially to the household, part of your contribution should be in the form of home maintenance and cleaning — in proportion to other family members’ financial contributions and efforts.

The three of you should pool your resources and draw up a chore chart, dividing regular household cleaning jobs. You can rotate these chores among you so that no one is stuck with any one job week after week.

Obviously, none of this will be of much use if the other two people in your household don’t cooperate, so making an investment in hiring outside cleaning help might be worthwhile.

There are advantages and disadvantages to living and working at home. Let this serve as an incentive for you to save your pennies with a goal of moving out.